Children love to make extravagant Christmas lists in December to send off to Santa.
But for many, the question is if those wishes can really be filled.
For staff at State Technical College of Missouri, that thought is what caused staff and students to rally together to fulfill lots of children's wishes for bikes this Christmas -- 100 kids, to be exact.
The partnership all started with the Osage Caring Project, which was formed in 2006 as the Christmas Wish Program to assist local families during the stressful holiday season.
"They help provide gifts for families that are in need during the holiday season," said Brandon McElwain, director of marketing at State Tech.
Osage Caring Project is a grass roots community organization that has been assisting families in need for the past eight years, according to their Facebook page. They run an "adopt-a-family" program that serves families in Osage County that are experiencing extreme poverty due to illness, job loss or personal tragedy.
According to McElwain, Osage Caring Project has set out to help 120 families with 360 kids in Osage County that were in need of gifts this holiday season.
State Tech's pledge to purchase bikes for the children of Osage County to aid the cause was completed Friday night after the second bike building party took place on campus.
"State Tech raised the money," McElwain said. "We have ways to raise money at the new driving range, so people were able to donate there and a couple of other places on campus. Then the college fit the rest of the bill."
The campus held two bike assembly nights between the end of November and the beginning of December to assemble and test the bicycles.
"We wanted to get bicycles, so we bought 100 different bicycles that range anywhere from a little kids' balance bike all the way up to the big old mountain bikes," McElwain said. "We had a bike building party, basically. Some students, some faculty and staff all got together, and we built almost all of them last week. Next week, they (Osage Caring Project) will come pick those bikes up and give them to the families that need them.
"We were honored to help out. We always like to give back to our local community, and there's nothing better than giving back during the holiday season. It was kind of great to see the faculty, staff and students all come together. It's amazing what a bunch of people can do in a short amount of time, even if it is 100 bikes."
Courtesy/Brandon McElwain
Missouri State Technical College faculty, staff and students assemble bicycles to donate to children in Osage County during the holidays.
Courtesy/Brandon McElwain
Missouri State Technical College faculty, staff and students assemble bicycles to donate to children in Osage County during the holidays.
Courtesy/Brandon McElwain
State Tech faculty, staff and students assemble bicycles to donate to children in Osage County during the holidays. As part of the project, 100 bikes were purchased and assembled, and are to be delivered by the Osage Caring project.
Courtesy/Brandon McElwain
Missouri State Technical College faculty, staff and students held two bicycle assembly nights.
Courtesy/Brandon McElwain
Missouri State Technical College faculty, staff and students held two bicycle assembly nights.